Potty Training Boot Camp!
Was a success.....Wahooo!!!
Hayden had an entire week off for Thanksgiving. For weeks I was planning on doing my own version of potty training boot camp. For years I've heard horror stories about training kids with Fragile X. How long it takes, how some twice Hayden's age are still not potty trained. I've taken classes at conferences, read books and grilled my FX friends whose kids are potty trained. I tried several times before with no luck at all. This time though I really felt like he was ready and if it was going to work I needed to make a complete commitment to it. He was waking up dry from naps. He was sometimes even dry when he would wake up in the morning. Then I started noticing his diapers would stay dry for long periods of time. We would have random success when we would occasionally sit him on the potty. We decided we were just going for it. Make the commitment and go for it and see what happens. Well Mike was gone the weekend before Thanksgiving so I was so not starting it then. Great Logic right except I started it on Monday when Mike was at work all day anyway. Well he was home at night so I wasn't doing it completely alone. I decided that if we were going to be successful I was going to have to devote all of my time to this. So basically for 5 straight days we did nothing, went nowhere and just potty trained. Can I just say how stressful and exhausting this is!! So armed with our dvd player, dry erase board (he loves to have someone write his name over and over again), and some peanut mm's (which I ate more than Hayden) I clipped a timer to my shirt and sat him every 15 minutes and would increase it if he eliminated in the potty or not.
Day 1 - Not one poo or pee made it into the potty - The clean up and laundry was constant.
Day 2 - I think we had one pee pee in the potty - again massive amount of clean up and wondering if he would ever get it and wondering if he even knew he was going?
Day 3 - First thing in the morning complete success both in the potty! Then we had serveral accidents but some success as well. (I figure nobody wants to read the words pee and poo over and over again so from here on out we will call it success)
Day 4 Success again first thing in the morning. At this point every morning we just sit him till be has multiple success in the potty! He also had success all day with only 1 accident. At this point we realized that he just wanted the dvd player all the time so we only would give it to him if he had success! Smart mommy and daddy...this worked great and made success much quicker!
You get the picture...by day 6 he was actually telling us he had to go and was very successful!
So our first true test came on Monday when he went back to school. Can I just say and I know none of you will be surprised by this....It took everything I had to not call and ask how it was going. Then when my little man walked down the hall in the the exact same outfit I put him in that morning I don't think I have ever been so proud in my life!!! I had to put my glasses on so they wouldn't see the tears. This is a complete joke cause I can't hide when I cry they knew!
Have we completely accomplished it?? Not yet!! But this is a big victory and I will take it. We'll see when we are out somewhere for long periods of time or when we get brave enough to keep him in underwear instead of a pull up for long car rides. He's not into having success in public toilets yet so that's going to be an obstacle we will have to over come.
Almost 6 years of diapers and we are done!!! (Well we still wear pull up at night)
I was watching a talk show and they had a famous lady on and she was talking about how we as mother's over praise our kids and its not healthy. Well I for one would rather over praise than under praise. To see the pride in his eyes when he accomplishes something and then looks at me and asks for a high-five..that is one of the greatest things in the world to me. So heck yea, You want a high five -here's two! You want a success song and dance here you go! You want to watch doodle bops over and over again - lets get on the bus! You want to watch Thomas the train in mommy's room - well bust my bumpers lets go!!! I am so proud of my little man and every single one of his accomplishments. He deserves praise for every one big and small because he has to work twice as hard.
This post is dedicated to all of my Fragile X mommies and daddies whose angels are not potty trained some much older than mine as well as those FX mommies and daddies who have potty trained your little ones. My prayers go out to you both! I know how difficult and frustrating it is.
Love
Tina
